2016 NFL mock draft 3.0: When will the Denver Broncos take a quarterback?

The only thing certain about the draft process is nothing is certain. The Broncos main needs â€“ quarterback, defensive line, inside linebackers have been well-documented leading up to the NFL draft.

The Broncos know their needs as well as anyone, but theyâ€™ve been successful in the John Elway era by staying true to their board and avoiding the reach for need. The strengths in the draft are in the trenches on both lines and in the secondary. Iâ€™d expect the Broncos to select at least one of each position and a quarterback.

Alabama defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson is one of the top defensive players available in the NFL Draft, which starts April 28 in Chicago. (Jamie Martin, AP file)

You may have heard this is a really good defensive line draft. Iâ€™ll tell you again: this is a really defensive line draft especially for interior defensive linemen. Itâ€™s strong at the top, middle and bottom. This is a great draft to need a defensive lineman or two.

With that being said, somebody is going to drop. It could be Alabamaâ€™s Jarran Reed or Aâ€™Shawn Robinson, Ole Missâ€™ Robert Nkemdiche or Baylorâ€™s Andrew Billings. In this mock draft, I have Robinson.

Robinson excels as a run-stuffer and will be able to start as a 3-4 defensive end that moves inside on obvious passing downs. It looked like he was miscast in the Tide defense to only eat up two blockers and open plays for their linebackers and edge rushers. If he has any hidden pass-rush ability that can be explored, Robinson becomes an even better selection.

Robinson is a perfect mix of power and athleticism. The Tide actually used him at fullback in goal line situations. He plays too high sometimes letting offensive linemen with good technique to get leverage on him and did more leaning than driving at Alabama. Heâ€™s a prime candidate to be a better pro than college player. Even if he doesnâ€™t, Robinson should be a solid run-stuffing starter.

I don’t like any QB’s in this year’s draft. The way I see if Denver takes a QB this year they shouldn’t do it before the 6th round and that guy is simply a camp or practice squad body. As much as I think Siemian is nothing more than a back up Denver should roll with Sanchez and Siemian this year and look to next years draft for a QB. Rumor has it Denver is either going to trade up for Lynch if he drops to the 20’s or a draft day trade for Kaepernick. Neither of those thrill me either.

If it’s such a deep draft at DL, then why would they not take another one until the 7th round? If the strength of the draft is the DL, then I would think they would take another one in the middle of the draft. I don’t see Elway saying that the best player in round 4 is a DL but ignoring that and going with some other position of need.

I’ll guess (like everyone else) that the only way Elway’s gonna take a QB early is if someone drops significantly. I don’t believe any of the guys who are expected to be around late for the Broncos in the first two rounds are worth that pick. BPA first round (likely defensive lineman…maybe Nkemdiche, since I don’t think Robinson will be there), BPA second round (o-lineman, if available?).

Every mock draft I look at has the Broncos taking a DL, it’s just a different name each time however. No consensus around who will be available basically. QB is no longer mentioned as Cook’s name has been dropped from people’s thinking and Lynch is no longer dropping to them given the trades at the top. You never know, a big run on DL could occur and that drops a top ILB or Safety down and Elway has him the highest rated player. Of course, what will likely happen is we all wait until the end with anticipation of who he will pick and he then he trades down and we all have to wait another day.

Yeah, it’s all speculation. I did see a couple drafts with the DL’s we want gone, which have the Broncos picking Whitehair (guard), and I think I even saw a safety in one of them in round one. We’ll find out after the Broncos make their first round move.

With 10 draft picks this year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Broncos move up a few slots if they felt someone they really want could be snatched up by another team.

I wonder if there are some teams who choose the player they believe the Broncos want, just so the Broncos don’t get that player.

I don’t think a team selects a player just because some other team wants him. Instead, I do see teams moving up in front of other teams to select a player they want because the next team picking is likely to take that guy. I can see a team with a high second round pick moving up to the late 20s to take a DL that they like because they feel he won’t get by Denver at 31. Tennessee and Cleveland will probably both be in the market for DL in the second if there are guys they like so I can see either of them moving up a few slots to take a falling DL

Alright everyone, every year I have done a mock draft for the Broncos since 2009, and this year will be no different. Hopefully I will provide information on players that you didn’t know about and hopefully these will be players the Broncos organization will consider on draft day. But before we move to the upcoming 2016 draft lets revisit my past drafts, (these picks fall under first round or first pick category) :

Between 2009- 2015( 7 year span) I was able to locate several Pro Bowlers or major contributors with the first pick or 1st rounders and hopefully this year I will be able to do the same.

Now lets get to the good part the Mock draft.

1st Pick(31st, 1st round):

As we all know this off season has been rough for the Broncos as a team, the Broncos have lost multiple players to free agency, and they need to start to rebuild. The popular though is that the Broncos should draft a quarterback with the first pick to replace Brock Osweiler, I have a different thought process I believe that the Broncos got to and won the Super Bowl with an elite defense so the Broncos should build around their defense as opposed to drafting the 3rd of 4th best quarterback, who may or may not be a quality quarterback, with an elite defense in play. With that said I believe the first pick should be DL Aldolphus Washington.

He can play multiple position along the defensive line from NT to a 5- technique DE. On top of that, what did the Broncos lose in Malik Jackson? His great interior pass rushing ability right?

Malik Jackson:

So why wouldn’t the Broncos draft a guy with similar attributes and a player who should be available to the Broncos with the 31st pick? Adolphus Washington to me is one of maybe 3 players who could replace Malik Jackson on this attacking defense in this years draft, when you consider his ability to play multiple spots along the defensive line and his ability to shoot gaps to get to running backs and quarterbacks, it’s a no-brainer for me for the Broncos to draft Adolphus Washington:

Earlier this year I said that the Broncos should draft a running back with their second pick, and that they should draft running back Alex Collins out of Arkansas, but since then I have changed my pick. I still love Collins game, but I believe there is a player in this years draft that was way to good to pass up, and on top of that, he fits a position of need. Who is this player you might ask? Well it is no other than ILB Kentrell Brothers(K.B.). Literally K.B. is a tackling machine, in 2015 this guy who many say plays in the best conference in college football, lead the conference in tackles with 152. Let me put that into prospective, Danny Trevathan in his 4 seasons with the Broncos never got more than 129 tackles in 16 games:

While Kentrell Brothers got 152 tackles in 12 games. The Man can play, then you throw in the fact he can run and cover he is a great fit for the Broncos. His combine made me a little nervous at some points. By this I mean he ran the fastest 3 cone drill with 6.99 and the fastest short shuttle in 4.11( Von Miller 4.05) so this guy can really move in space. It was his 40 time that got me, he ran it in 4.89. So I was a little turn off, and surprised considering how fast he looked on tape. But to my relief on his pro day he ran a 4.73:

Brothersâ€™ 4.89-second sprint at the NFL Combine ranked 27th among 31 linebackers, but his 4.73-second 40-yard dash at Pro Day would have tied for the fifth-fastest among inside-linebacker prospects.

â€śI was really stressing about the 40, and I improved a lot,â€ť Brothers said. â€śThat was the goal. I knew I wasnâ€™t that slow.â€ť

I am not saying he is Ray Lewis, but there is a lot of RAY- RAY in him. He is a great form tackler, that is a rarity in today’s NFL, and oh yeah did I mention he was teammates with Shane Ray for a few years, this pick makes too much sense:

ILB Kentrell Brothers:

Pick 3 (#94, third round)

I believe this will be the pick the Broncos use to trade for Colin Kaepernick. I’ve mention this several times on this forum but Colin Kapernick is a great fit for Gary Kubiak system he can beat you with his arm inside and outside of the pocket or with his legs. Colin has carry 49ers to two conference titles and one Super Bowl.

2012 Divisional PLayoff game( Kaepernick at home against Green Bay)

2012 Conference Championship( Kaepernick on the road at Atlanta to go to Super Bowl)

2012 Super Bowl( Kap was a few plays away from winning a Super Bowl)

2013 wild card:

2013 divisional ( on the road at carolina):

2013 NFC conference( Seattle, we know what happened in the Super bowl):

Regardless of what people think, if you put quality players around Colin Kapernick he will produce. Plus the fact the niners used Colin Kaepernick as a scapegoat in the 2015 season I believe that Colin will be traded to the Broncos:

Originally I had the Broncos drafting QB Dak Prescott with this pick but after thinking about it the Broncos would have Colin Kaepernick, Mark Sanchez and Trevor there is no need to draft a quarterback this high. So I am going another route. The person the Broncos should draft is offensive line Joshua Garnett. The guy was named best interior linemen in college (Outland Trophy) and played in a zone blocking scheme(ZBS) at Stanford which is the same type of scheme the Broncos run:

got to love his nasty streak:

5th pick(#136, 4th round cannot be traded)

The Broncos need to add some depth to their safety position, so I am going safety here, the man for the job here is West Virginia safety K.J. Dillion. K.J. and play both free and strong safety and has speed to burn. He has a few flaws to his game but is starting to move up draft boards, he is some I would like for Denver to get him in the 4th as opposed to 5th.

Safety K.J. Dillon:

K.J. Dillon Pro day:

“One of the standouts from the day had to have been K.J. Dillon in his position drills. He showed tremendous footwork and agility in coverage drills getting in and out of his cuts smoothly. He also made a couple of tough catches on the run, one on a deep ball and one that was thrown away from his body on a dead sprint. After his solid Senior Bowl and NFL Combine performance, Dillon saw himself sitting at number five on Mike Mayockâ€™s list of safeties. With the Pro Day that he had, Dillon solidified that position.”

Last year Gary Kubiak said he wanted to draft a returner, but just missed out on a couple of guys:

After the draft came to an end, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said that the team had eyes on a couple of kick return prospects but didnâ€™t draft them because they wound up going to other teams just before Denver was on the clock.

â€śWeâ€™re going to have to get more guys involved in that,â€ť Kubiak said, via the teamâ€™s website. â€śItâ€™s up to us in the offseason and preseason to find some more guys that can help us from that standpoint.â€ť

In another interview last year he said that we wanted the returner to also contribute on offense or defense as well. So I found the ideal candidate at the top of the 5th round. Tyler Ervins, Tyler can play WR,RB, Punt and kick returner and is a 4.4 guy

Bottom Line:

He is Ronnie Hillman’s replacement with way more upside, so the roster show look like this C.J. Anderson Bell cow, Kapri Bibbs his backup, signed Arian Foster, Tyler Ervin 3rd down back/ returner, Juwan Thompson depth.

RB/WR/KR/PR Tyler Ervin:

7th Pick(#157, 5th round)

Broncos with the second pick in the 5th round need to address the offensive line, in terms of depth and I am going with Rees Odhiambo of Boise State. Rees has he length and agility to play tackle and the quickness to play guard. His versatility is priceless, especially considering he played in a zone-blocking scheme(ZBS) in Boise, a scheme that would fit him well in Denver.

Rees Odhiambo OT/OG

8th pick(# 219, 6th round cannot be traded)

Gary Kubiak has been talking about this for awhile now, but the Broncos finally get there fullback. I believe the Broncos should draft Northwestern Fullback Dan Vitale, the guy is a beast, he can block, catch and boy can he run.

The Broncos have and elite defense as I mention before, but can you image how good the Broncos would be if the Broncos just stop the opposing team to a 3 and out and now the opposing team has to kick to an elite returner who is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. The player I have in mind, his last name tells it all.

Morgan Burns (4:38 forty at his pro day, probably best returner in college football)

10th pick (#253, 7 round)

The Broncos need to add depth to the interior of their pass rush and DT Luther Maddy fits the bill here( he is more of an interior pass rush specialist given his size:

I like Robinson or Robert Nkemdiche with our first pick. QB seems to be a reach here. A great DL replaces Malik and then some. Figure out the ILB that replaces Trevathan and this is as good as or better than the D we won the SB with.

Elway isn’t drafting for a starter for next year, he’s drafting guys for special teams and backups. Sure there are two starting spots open on the defense, but their replacements are already on the roster. He’s drafting a safety to be there when one of the top two go down. Or a DL that is a rotation guy who gets maybe 15 snaps a game. Or an ILB to start in a few years but get a handful of snaps giving the starters a breather during the year. If our top pick is a starter next year, it will be either because Elway nailed the pick or due to injuries.

[…] The only thing certain about the draft process is nothing is certain. The Broncos main needs â€“ quarterback, defensive line, inside linebackers have been well-documented leading up to the Original Article […]

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.